UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Renea Nichols, associate teaching professor in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, is the 2022 recipient of the Barash Award for Human Service.
Created in 1975 by the family of the late Sy Barash, the award honors a full-time member of the faculty or staff or student body on the University Park campus who, apart from his or her regular duties, has contributed the most to human causes, public service activities and organizations, or the welfare of fellow humans.
Nominators said Nichols is an engaged member of her community who is committed to helping its organizations and residents.
A public relations professor, nominators said, Nichols lends her energy and creative talents to fundraisers and other calls to action. Her efforts to help service and faith organizations have earned her the reputation as the right person for generating funds and other support for worthy causes.
Nichols works with nonprofit organizations such as the Bellefonte Art Museum, which houses the site for a stop on the Underground Railroad. Nichols is working with the museum’s board to draw attention to the site and have it placed on the National Registry. A resident of Bellefonte, she also sits on the board of the Bellefonte Union Cemetery, Children and Youth Service Advisory board, The Crooked House in Milesburg, and assists the Eagle Iron Works and Curtin Village with programming and social media. Before the pandemic, Nichols ran two summer teen writing workshops in the community.
Frequently, Nichols’ community service efforts become learning opportunities for her students.
One example is a partnership with Penn State Outreach to rebrand and revitalize the Homewood and Hill Districts in Pittsburgh. Her students won a national award for this effort in Pittsburgh. Other causes included raising awareness and victim support around sex trafficking.
“Nichols’ students learn about the possibilities for combining their professional aspirations with work for the social good from her example,” a nominator said.
Nichols also worked with the nonprofit Interfaith Human Services, based in State College. The group’s mission is to address many social and economic needs for low-income residents. As chair of the group’s event Centre Sings, Nichols raised more than $10,000. That resulted in heating fuel help for 25 low-income families.
A nominator said Nichols once spotted a young woman in a performance who didn’t have a costume. Nichols helped the woman purchase a costume in time for the performance.
“That single anecdote captures Nichols’ approach to the world: Get involved, and empower others to be involved, too,” a nominator said.